Climate
Privacy
Bob Dylan
Drones
Data Centers
AI Governance
2026 Maine Senate Race
U.S. Carbon Capture Policy Fight
Coverage from Clean Air Task Force, Mitsubishi Power Americas, and others
Articles
3
Active Days
159
The Topic
U.S. carbon capture and storage is at the center of a policy dispute over whether federal incentives, project funding, and state-led permitting should be expanded or constrained. Supporters argue that 45Q tax credits, Department of Energy demonstrations, Class VI well approvals, and corporate demand can move CCS toward commercial deployment, particularly in power and hard-to-abate industries. Critics contend that the same incentives may prolong fossil fuel production, support enhanced oil recovery, and subsidize projects with limited broader emissions benefits.
First Article: 01/01/00
Latest Article: 11/10/25
Summary
- Supporters say DOE cancellations and proposed cuts could delay industrial and power-sector carbon capture projects.
- The 45Q tax credit is a central policy lever, with debate over its value, transferability, eligible uses, and environmental safeguards.
- More states are seeking or receiving EPA authority to permit Class VI carbon storage wells, potentially speeding project approvals.
- Measurement, reporting, and verification requirements are becoming important for validating storage and accessing 45Q credits.
- CCS projects remain capital-intensive and often depend on coordinated permitting, transport and storage infrastructure, and private investment.
- Critics argue that 45Q may reward enhanced oil recovery, gas processing, blue hydrogen, and ethanol activities that continue or increase other emissions.
- The material presents a persistent tension between CCS as an industrial decarbonization tool and CCS as support for continued fossil fuel use.
History
The story is reframed less as a general CCS growth-and-uncertainty narrative and more as a direct policy fight over whether to expand or constrain federal and state support. The current version sharpens the opposing camps and adds specific advocacy voices, but no major new event or outcome appears.
The story has shifted from a general policy tug-of-war to a more concrete picture of sector buildout being constrained by federal funding cuts and state permitting capacity. The new emphasis is on how Class VI primacy, 45Q transferability, and verified monitoring now directly determine whether projects can reach commercial scale.
Featured
Timeline: 159 Days
Hover over any logo to see coverage summary, click for full article.